


Between Love and Hate

by rorz94



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Boy Zayn, F/M, Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 10:58:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rorz94/pseuds/rorz94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lilia was terrified, was the man working alone? Of course he was not he had another accomplice, and probably he is waiting in the car. She walked with him, like a mindless marionette, she was afraid of what might happen if she tried to escape, he held her from the waist, and ordered her to bring the bike with her. She was right; the same range rover was parked in a nearby street. Lilia did not dare look at the guy, but she made herself look. On the dim light of the street, she saw... Zayn??<br/>“What are you doing here?” She asked in a high pitched voice, removing his arm from her waist.<br/>“Rescuing you, you seemed miserable, and plus the streets are not really safe at night. The thing is you ran before I could offer you a ride!”He replied sheepishly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between Love and Hate

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know... I know, I prefer a fiction that ships the boys together! but it was kinda fun writing this part :l guilty! Just give it a try and comment! What's funny is that I wrote this part a long time ago, and the main character's name was actually Sophia but I had to change it to avoid any confusions :p  
> note: Lilia is a nerdy Potterhead!  
> English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes :l

“Ah crap!” Lilia cried, she was sprawled on the ground, her books were one feet away and she felt her jeans slash when she bumped her left knee so hard on the street pavement.  
“Great, that’s all what I needed to make my day!” she moaned trying to get up. Her first day at university was not going so well, she did not wake up in time, so she had to go there looking like a zombie; her bicycle chain got stuck and refused to move so she had to run from dorms to her class.  
She picked up her scattered books and carried on without bothering to look at her injured knee, two minutes and the class will start. She made it there on time, but students were looking at her in a funny way. She knew the cause behind these funny looks, and jokes, she actually seemed as if she came from battle. She sat down quickly and quietly, then she felt a hand playing with her hair, she whipped around to shout out at whoever was doing it, but the guy said quickly “sorry, there was a tree leaf in your hair.”  
Lilia blushed, and then mouthed thank you. The guy smiled and returned a welcome. The professor entered the lecture hall, and the class fell silent. After this cursed morning, Lilia’s day turned out to be not that bad.  
At break she went to sit on the grass and read a book she started later this summer, “The catcher in the Rye”. She started to read, but as always, her mind wandered to another world, where she was this famous best selling writer, just like J.K.Rowling, becoming an idol to be followed. Her eyes wandered to contemplate in this idea, yet they stopped when they saw a guy. It was that guy who removed the leaf from her hair in the morning. He was sitting on the ground, his back resting on the trunk of an oak tree, and he was reading this very old very huge book. The guy was so absorbed that he did not even stop to look around for a second. Lilia was not even close to ready to hit on guys just yet, but she actually liked nerdy looking guys, and this one was nerdy hot. He had these big black rimmed glasses, very sexy hazel eyes, and a messy raven black hair. She wondered how he would look like without the glasses on.  
As if he felt the pressure of her gaze, the guy suddenly looked up to see her staring at him; he narrowed his eyes and stared back. Lilia removed her eyes away but it was too late, he caught her in the act. After a moment she risked a glance but he returned to his philosophy book. She was wondering if she could go and say hi, and thank him this time verbally, but she was hesitant, she was not that type of girl who could approach a guy with confidence without making a fool out of herself. She sucked at flirting, and she always ended up saying embarrassing things about herself. The guy felt her gaze again, but this time he closed the book soundly, stood up, and started to walk towards her. Lilia started to blush, what the hell he’s doing, I’m not ready for a conversation, she thought.  
However the guy continued his way until he was right in front of her, she moved her head up so she could look him in the eyes, but damn he was tall, he crouched so his face could be on her level.  
“Next time, just come and say hello, okay, it’s actually rude to stare, my name is Zayn by the way.”  
He held a hand so she could shake it, she did briefly: “I’m Lilia.” Well at least she remembered her name, she thought.  
Zayn stood up again, then said briskly: “I’m gonna finish this in the library.”  
He walked away, leaving her speechless.  
The days passed, and he did not speak to her again. In fact, she felt he was ignoring her completely. She spent her times in the library, studying and reading, and she always found him there too, but he never approached her again, and she did not dare to start a conversation.  
One stormy night, Lilia was craving for noodles. She rode her bike to a market she knows in the city, the streets were semi deserted, and the wind was blowing hard. She bought the noodles, and hurried back to her bike, a great thunder broke the silence of the sky, and it started raining cats and dogs.  
Poor Lilia had to struggle with her bike, under the chilly rain. At times, she felt she was being watched yet there was none on the street, she stopped under a pergola, and waited, maybe this crazy shower will stop! A shiny black rover stopped right where she was standing, and it waited too. Lilia started to shake but not from her wet clothes, why did the car stop? Who was inside it?  
The car window moved down, and a silhouette of a person was what she could see in the dark. She did not wait to get kidnapped; she took her bike and pedaled as fast as she could. Still she could feel the car chasing her. She was soaked and out of breath, and she was changing directions all the time, after a while she felt lost. She went in a narrow alley, where the car cannot follow her there. It was raining harder than ever, and threatening thunders tore into the night’s clouded skies. Footsteps echoed on the wet pavement of the street, and two manly voices talking and laughing were getting closer. Lilia backed to the end of the alley ever so slowly; she was taking step after step backwards.  
Her heart stopped, and then fell like a hard iced rock at the bottom of her stomach when a hand suddenly grabbed her from the back, and another one muffled her future scream.  
“Shhh” a voice whispered in her ear, “Don’t shout, and come with me quietly.”  
Lilia was terrified, was the man working alone? Of course he was not he had another accomplice, and probably he is waiting in the car. She walked with him, like a mindless marionette, she was afraid of what might happen if she tried to escape, he held her from the waist, and ordered her to bring the bike with her. She was right; the same range rover was parked in a nearby street. Lilia did not dare look at the guy, but she made herself look. On the dim light of the street, she saw… Zayn??  
“What are you doing here?” She asked in a high pitched voice, removing his arm from her waist.  
“Rescuing you, you seemed miserable, and plus the streets are not really safe at night. The thing is you ran before I could offer you a ride!”He replied sheepishly.  
He lifted her bike and put it in trunk of the car.  
“Oh my God! You gave me a heart attack; I was planning to hit you between the legs and run for it! If you wanna help a girl in the dead of the night next time please make your intentions clear from the first minute.”  
“That’s what I get for trying to help you?” he replied with a pinch of irritation in his voice.  
His hair was all wet, falling flat on his forehead, his shirt was splattered and plastered on him, and he was not wearing his usual big nerdy glasses.  
Man he looks hot, was all what Lilia could think of, and she felt a little embarrassed because she knew she looked horrible, and plus she actually turned her anger on him, when he was trying to help, in a creepy way, a tiny voice added in her head.  
She smiled, and then thanked him.  
“Well, we’re both drenched anyway, just get in the car.” He said exasperatedly.  
Lilia mimicked him behind his back; he was back to his annoying way of making her feel bad.  
She started to feel really cold when she got into the car, uncontrollable shivers took over her body, and Zayn noticed and turned on the heater automatically.  
An awkward silence fell between them, and she interrupted it by continuous exhaling in order to give some heat to her hands.  
He stopped the car in front of the dorms building, and she got out. Her roommate, Lara was waiting for her on the steps of the entrance.  
“Oh my, I told you it’s going to rain!” I was worried about you, you took so long to come back, and I was going to call the police.”She was looking behind her, when Zayn got out of the car to remove her bike from the back.  
“Oh my, is that Zayn Malik?”  
“Who, Oh yeah that’s him.” Lilia replied.  
Lara sighed and stared at him, Lilia stared at her, so her roommate finds the guy attractive too?  
Zayn was actually waiting for her to take her bike back.  
“Hello, you don’t want this or what?”  
“Oh, right, thanks for the ride, I’m sorry for what I said earlier I was just frightened to death.”  
Zayn did not really know how to reply to this, he could not define if she was being sarcastic or sincere. So he just nodded and took off.  
Back in their room, Lara made Lilia spill all what happened to the tiniest details and the details she demanded concerned Zayn the most.  
“I seriously don’t understand your fascination about the guy; he’s just another guy, nothing special really.” Lilia said at the end of the questioning.  
Lara gasped indignantly like she offended her.  
“This guy has half the girls in his year and the years after chasing after him, if you didn’t know, I’m telling you, he’s not just another guy!”  
“I thought all the girls are chasing after Harry, The one who’s in the law school!” Lilia exclaimed.  
“Oh, yeah him too, but Zayn is more of the dangerous type, because he’s mysterious and dark…”Lara was obviously daydreaming; she forgot to continue her sentence. Lilia snapped her fingers in her face, and she got out of it.  
“Oh, but Harry is more of the sensitive cute type.”  
“Trust me, there’s nothing dangerous about that Zayn guy, he’s more of a softy if you’re asking me.”  
Lara laughed: “I’d never say that in public girl, I don’t think you heard of the guy!”  
Lilia left her alone and entered the bathroom to have a hot shower that hopefully will warm her body again. She was replaying everything that happened in her mind, and without noticing, she captured herself thinking about Zayn. It frustrated her; she shook her head to toss him out of her mind.

Next day, Zayn was sitting in the library, studying for the next detailed composition he has to submit. He kept on looking up every time someone passes by, without knowing what he was doing; he then realized that he was looking out for her. The smart ass girl with the stupid bike haunted him last night. There was something about her that was different, he knew lots of girls but this one had something special, it sounded corny in his mind, he knew that, but it was nonetheless something he felt, yet he could not put his finger on what was special about her.  
She did not show for their common class of history, and he thought she will show up later in the library, but she did not. Luckily, he saw her roommate passing by, and he got up to ask her about her friend.  
“Err, Lara, right!”He called her.  
“Oh, hi Zayn,” She answered in a high-pitched excited voice.  
“I was wondering, erm; I guess Lilia didn’t show up today… so I was wondering if you know why she did not come? I mean do you know if she’s okay?”  
“Oh, I think she’s ill, she looked a mess this morning!”Lara replied showing disappointment.  
“Okay, can you tell me when you finish; maybe I’ll give you a ride and check up on your little friend.”  
Lara agreed, but she did not like all the attention that Lilia was getting from sexy Zayn.  
She opened their room, when Lilia was getting out of the bathroom, and man she looked like a mess, the minute she saw Zayn on the threshold she let out a cry and ran for bed. It was a comical situation but Lilia was aware of her appearance, and she did not want him to see her in this shape.  
“LET HIM GO AWAY!” she shouted from behind her blanket.  
Zayn wanted to laugh, but he knew he would only embarrass her more, so he just smirked, and she couldn’t see him anyway.  
“I only came to check on you, little one, but it seems you’re fine to me. Stop making up excuses to ditch classes.”  
He heard a muffled gasp from behind the blanket, and this time he chuckled.  
“See you around, when you’re better.”  
He walked away, and it was for the best, he did not want to make her feel bad, or bothered. But man, she looked so sick and drained, and it was his fault, he should have made her remove her wet clothes in the car and given her his dry jacket that was in the back seat. However he was sure she wouldn’t accept that, or she would misunderstand him.  
Then he smiled to himself, well as if he didn’t use this excuse to get close to a girl before.  
****  
Lilia was catching up, she missed two chapters of reading and she needed to finish them in her spare time. Not to mention, the detailed dissertation she had to submit tomorrow.  
This day in the cafeteria was louder than usual, a football game will have place in their field against a northern university. Everyone was excited, and Liam the captain of the football team was sitting there and everyone gathered around him to wish him luck. After an hour of struggling with the swirling words in her book, she gave up, closed the book with a thud that nobody heard, and sat to watch the crowd. She felt their excitements and hopes. Then her eyes fell on the captain of the team and man oh man! He was fit, in every way. A real sportive guy, with a cute face and brown puppy eyes; and everyone seemed to like him. A girl was sitting beside him and he had his arm around her shoulders, so she concluded he already had a girlfriend.  
“What a shame.” She whispered under her breath.  
“Hello there.”  
A cute blond guy with clear blue eyes, and a brilliant grin was sitting opposite her. Lilia was startled, it was a funny way to get to know someone, but she replied with a shy hello.  
“You’re new here, right; I don’t think I’ve seen you sitting here before. My name is Niall; you can call me Ni, like everyone around here. I don’t know about you, but I have to know everyone around here, so what’s your name?”  
“Lilia.”  
“Beautiful, just like you, just if you need anything ever make sure you ask me, alright.” He said that with a wink.  
Lilia found him a little strange and funny, but he was the kind of guy that anyone would feel comfortable around. She followed him with her eyes, and he was like talking to everyone at once. He must be one of those hyper social guys, she made a mental note. She was just starring at the cafeteria entrance with a blank mind, nargles invaded her brain again.  
She shook her head, and there he was Zayn, just making a casual entrance, with a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, faded torn jeans and black combat boots. His hair tossed in every direction. He looked sizzling hot, and all the girls (some guys too) stopped and stared for a moment before continuing what they were doing. The boy named Niall, went his way, talked to him, and to Lilia’s eyes, they seemed like friends.  
Niall said something, and Zayn laughed, and Sophia’s heart missed a beat. No, no, we’re not falling for this guy Lili, she reminded herself. Guys like him; they will just break her heart and leave it there on the ground, maybe stamp on it too. She will not allow this to happen, not if she could help it.  
Lilia was a passionate girl, when she loved someone, she would stand against the whole world to defend his case, she would do crazy things to please him, and she would give him everything even her soul and she couldn’t help to act this way, because that is the way she defines love. Unfortunately, all the guys she dated did not appreciate this, and they just cheated on her, left her, or even started rumors about her, and she spent days blaming herself and punishing herself for allowing this to happen. She didn’t need anyone, she reminded herself; not another douche bag in her life that’s for sure.  
Zayn saw Sophia sitting there alone, blankly staring at her book; she looked so sad yet so beautiful. Her dark reddish hair was covering the sides of her face, and all what he could see of her eyes are her dark long lashes. Niall who was still talking to Zayn just noticed the appreciation look of his friend to this new girl. Zayn ignored Niall shamelessly, and went to say hello, to the girl that haunted his dreams last night too.  
“Why so sad, little one?” he asked with a crooked smile.  
“Ugh, if you’re giving me this nickname to refer to my short height, you might as well not talk to me ever again.” She replied annoyed, and opened her book to ignore him.  
“Wait a second you already know her? How did that happen?” Niall said looking puzzled.  
“I saved her little ass when she was in great need, all wet…under the rain in a stormy night, with her bike all alone.” Zayn drawled slowly, ever so sarcastically.  
Before Lilia could retort angrily, Niall said: “O-keeh, I’ll leave you discuss this and I’ll just go-o.”  
“I certainly did not need you to save me.” She said angrily, she felt the hot blood rising to her face; oh no she will be red soon.  
Zayn took the seat opposite to her, and sat down smirking, obviously enjoying the banter.  
“And I don’t remember I invited you to sit on my table.”  
“You didn’t, but it’s a free country right.”  
She gave him a look that sparked, and he felt the power of it, like if this look could kill him he would have dropped dead here and now.  
“Okay, sorry didn’t mean it, have you finished your dissertation yet?” he asked trying to sound casual.  
“No, I’m trying to finish these chapters first, but too many distractions.” She replied angrily. “Have you finished yours?”  
He smiled at her: “Yep, listen I can make you a deal.”  
“Really,” She replied dully.  
“I can let you look at my paper, if you could let me ea…”  
“FORGET IT” she answered before he could finish his sentence, she just despised this kind of perverted guys.  
“You didn’t even let me finish!”  
“I know what you’re going to say, the answer is no.”  
“You misunderstood, I didn’t mean anything sexual, and oh my …, do you always think that way!” Zayn said looking amused.  
She looked confused for a second, biting on her lower lip sheepishly: “Then what did you mean?”  
“I was going to ask you to invite me for lunch, I’m starving and I won’t have my salary until tonight, so…?”  
“You mean to tell me that you don’t have any money, a guy who drives a rover?”  
“Well it’s no shame to try to rely on myself!”He said defensively.  
“No, it’s not! Where do you work?”  
“I’ve got a job in a bar.”  
“Alright, I accept your offer, but I will only have a look at your paper so I could have an idea what to write, I’m not a cheater.”  
“Are you always like that? Chill, no one’s calling you a cheater.”  
An hour later, they were sitting in a fast food restaurant, where they ordered lunch. Lilia was mainly reading the paper, and Zayn was eating his second course. Lilia did not comment at the amount of food he ordered but well, she felt a little bit sorry for him. After she finished reading his paper, Lilia was in awe.  
“Are you sure you wrote this?”  
“Yeah, I hear the note of surprise!”  
“Well, I am surprised. You’re too good to be true!”  
Zayn chuckled, and shrugged.  
“I can’t believe you failed this class last year, what happened?”  
“Nah, that’s a long story.”  
“We have time, I really wanna know!”  
“I said a comment to correct the professor once, and he did not like it, and I don’t just accept anyone to call me a know-it-all smart ass.” Lilia felt danger in the way he said the last clause, it was like a challenge.  
“Yeah, but you failed.”  
“Exactly, he did not like me, so I failed.”  
“You’re suggesting that he failed you on purpose.”  
“No dear, I’m not suggesting, I’m saying, didn’t you read my paper.”  
“Modest, aren’t we.”She replied ironically.  
“There’s a slight difference between self-confidence and arrogance, and I believe in what I do is right when I’m sure it is right, I only hesitate when I’m not sure, I don’t leave anything for guessing or for chance.”  
Lilia nodded approving on what he said, but she did not have anything to reply. So she started writing the draft of her own paper. Zayn kept on staring at her, she was concentrating hard, and she ignored him completely, in fact he believed that if there should be a party around her she would not notice the change. After some time, Lilia heard someone talking to Zayn. She looked up to see who was talking for he had a strong accent and a husky voice. Her chocolate brown eyes met laughing blue ones. The guy had a French appearance about him, light brown hair, narrow eyes and an elegant style.  
“Hello there!” he said as soon as she looked at him, then he smiled a wild sarcastic smile, or maybe it was his way of smiling, she was not really sure.  
“Oh, hi.” She replied with a shy smile, “Sorry I did not notice you coming.”  
“Lilia, this is my boy Louis Tomlinson, Louis this is Lilia we’re taking the same class of literature.”Zayn said casually.  
Louis shook Lilia’s hand and after saying the usual “nice to meet you”s, Louis asked Zayn if he would see him tonight after his shift. Zayn confirmed and then Zayn said: “Louis here, is a standup comedian, dunno if you heard of him yet, but he’s getting really famous around here.”  
Lilia was not surprised by this news, the guy had something about him, some charisma or an aura of healing presence and something about his smile that made her just want to smile back.  
“I’ve never heard of you, I’m sorry, where do you have your next show??”  
“Ah, that’s a shame, I have one tonight at the bar Zayn works in, why don’t you come and watch you’ll be my guest?”  
“Well, the thing is I have to finish this paper thing for tomorrow, but I’ll try to come anyway, what time does it start, and where is this bar exactly?”  
Louis looked sideways at Zayn, “I blame you Zayn,” he said sarcastically, “It’s the black tulip bar, and I start at 11, so make sure you’ll be there. I have to get going now,” he said looking at his watch, “See you later Malik, Bye Lilia hope to see you tonight.”  
“Bye, yeah me too.” she replied, in some strange way she felt a little bit intimidated by his character.  
“I’ll have to go too, thanks a lot for the lunch, I owe you one, you can keep my paper with you for tonight alright, see you later.”Zayn said looking somehow distracted.  
“Okay, thanks.” she replied, and he was gone as if the place was on fire.  
“Well that wasn’t strange at all.” Lilia muttered under her breath.  
Lilia went back to her room, she spent all afternoon and all night working on the paper, it was almost 9pm when she finished, she put her laptop on her side table and closed her eyes a bit to let them rest. She was sitting in a dark place, hooded people surrounded her, what was she doing here? She saw her professor in the middle, he looked scary, a little bit devilish, he screamed in her face “I’M FAILING YOU KEYS”. She woke up startled, she was still in her bed, but she was covered in cold sweat.  
“Lilia, what’s up, had a nightmare??” Lara asked concerned.  
“Yes, I failed the dissertation.” She replied faintly.  
Lara laughed: “You call that a nightmare Lili, you’re cute.”  
“What time is it?” Lilia asked, ignoring her friend’s last comment.  
“It’s 11.”  
“Crap! I’m late.”  
“Late for what?” Lara asked interested, she was curious; she suspected Lilia was going out with Zayn.  
“Long story, have you seen a file, it was just here, on the counter.” Lilia was looking for Zayn’s paper, she could not find it anywhere, her heart beat started to rise in crescendo, this could not be happening!  
“What do you mean the black file that was here?”  
“Yes, have you seen it?”  
“Err! Actually yes, I thought it was mine, and threw it away.”  
“What the hell? Why would you do that! Shit!”  
“I’m sorry; I didn’t know it was yours.”Lara said looking concerned.  
“I can’t find it in the trash bin, where is it?”  
“I got the garbage out an hour ago.” Lara replied panicking.  
“Shit!!”  
Zayn was cleaning the last beer mugs, the last overly drunk customers were still hanging around, and he’ll have to throw them out as usual. He started wiping the bar; he could not wait to get out, to have a cigarette. He was a little disappointed Lilia did not show up.  
“Clean it good, yer dirty terrorist!” A man shouted out, making his mates laugh.  
Lilia finally found the damn bar, she did not go to this part of the city before, and she was afraid she was lost until she found the bar of the black tulip. She was so late; it was almost 2 after midnight. She had to search in the garbage truck for the bloody file; she even bribed the worker to give her some time. She had a quick shower, just to remove the stink from her, and took a taxi to the city. She was out of breath when she entered the place, she heard someone shouting in a drunken drawl.  
“Clean it good, yer dirty terrorist.”  
Lilia froze in her place, she saw Zayn, closing his eyes, his jaws muscles tensing. He threw the towel away, and moved from behind the counter, he went to where the men were sitting.  
“We’re closing; it’s time for you to go.”Zayn said in a calm poisonous way.  
Lilia wanted to warn him, it was obvious the gang wanted to have some fun hitting someone. She was not sure Zayn can handle them, she saw Louis coming from the back, and he put his index to his mouth, telling her not to speak.  
“And what yer gonna do ‘bout it you filthy!”  
“Well, where would you like it mother fucker?” Zayn said in his threatening cold voice.  
“Wada called me, huh!” the man stood up, and his mates surrounded Zayn, as if they were planning their attack plan.  
Zayn did not look afraid; in fact he looked calm, so calm that Lilia wondered if he was aware of the danger surrounding him. And it all happened in a flash of angry fast movements when the men tried to hit Zayn. Louis jumped like a panther from her side, joining in, defending his friend, but Zayn obviously did not need any. He took out three men to the floor. The first was the man who tried to hit him, he ducked to the side, grabbed his arms, twisted it, and dragged him, so the second man who was trying to hit him, ended up hitting his friend, Zayn then threw him on top of the table they were sitting on earlier, and turned to face the second one, who was amazed from what just happened. Zayn knocked him out with a punch, the third man grabbed Zayn from the back, trying to choke him, and so he hit him in the ribs with his left elbow, trying with his other hand to loosen the grip. He succeeded, and threw the man of his back in a judo move; the man fell hard on his back, and did not move again.  
Louis was just finishing the fifth man who was sprawled on the floor, he kicked him one last kick, and then stopped to watch Zayn, he was standing over the man who disrespected him, and he spit on him and muttered: “ya clown”, and then he dragged their unconscious bodies out on the street. Louis did the same, only when Zayn walked in again, he saw Lilia still standing in her place, shaky, apparently still in shock of what she just saw. She had his file in her left hand, and her right hand was grabbing her neck; a sign of distress. He was not sure how to approach her, but he tried.  
“Lilia, are you okay?” He asked he stepped closer wanting to hold her, but she took a step further, almost sticking her back to the wall.  
“I’m sorry you saw this Lilia, but that’s our weekly show here, I don’t hit girls, only drunken assholes.” He said nervously running his hand in his hair.  
The look she saw in his eyes, when he thought she was afraid of him made her heart skip a beat. She was not afraid of him in that way, but the fact that he can be a totally different person when it comes to outside campus life frightened her.  
He approached her and this time, she let him lead her to sit in a chair. He went to give her a cup of water. Louis sat beside her, and he was tapping her lightly on the back, making her smile for the first time after the fight. Zayn felt a pang of jealousy, he wanted to be the one soothing her, he hurried and handed her the cup of water.  
“Thanks.”  
“What the hell are you doing here Lilia; I remember Louis told you the show starts at 11!” Zayn couldn’t help but say, he was now angry that she got out at this late hour, especially when he knew so well the perverts that roamed these streets at this time.  
She looked at him puzzled, was he angry? She could not tell what she did to make him angry.  
“Well, I wanted to come earlier, but I… well it’s a long story.”  
“I have time to hear it while I’m cleaning this mess.” He went to bring a broom to clean the floor full of glass splinters and broken beer bottles.  
“Well, I slept after writing my paper…”she started recounting the events until she finished with “and then I made a quick shower, and came here as fast as I can.”  
Zayn put his two hands on the table, and was trying hard not to laugh yet: “Lilia, you do realize I’ve got a soft copy of my dissertation, right.”  
Lilia stared at him like a lost puppy, then she face palmed, Louis was holding his shaking sides, laughing loudly, and he was laughing so hard that he almost fell back of his seat.  
“You did all that, you retyped it, and reprinted it when…ahahahha, I don’t remember laughing so hard ever…ahahaha.”  
Zayn was still trying not to laugh as Louis was laughing, but when he saw Lilia joining in, he let go of his chuckles. Lilia had tears in her eyes when the laughing mania died out. Louis was still laughing a little every now and then. Zayn went back to put the chairs on the tables.  
“Okay, so look it was a long day, I must go now.” Lilia said, she got up and started walking to the exit.  
“Wow, wait, where do you think you’re going?”Zayn asked.  
“Err, back to the dorm!”  
“You’re not going back alone; I’m giving you a ride.”  
Lilia got annoyed; she surely doesn’t need any help, again.  
“Zayn, I’m not a three year old little girl, I can go back alone.”  
“Exactly, you’re not three.” He said sarcastically. “Louis, start the car and take this crazy girl with you.”  
He threw the keys to Louis who caught them in mid air, then went to the exit, Lilia followed him quietly.  
Louis unlocked the doors and opened the back door to Lilia; he sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine.  
“Err why that guy was calling Zayn terrorist? I mean he doesn’t look like …, wait, to think of it, he has…”  
“A Pakistani origin, got a problem?”  
Lilia jumped, Zayn was standing out next to Louis, the window was open, and he obviously heard her.  
“No, of course not, I have middle eastern origins myself.”  
“Really,” Zayn and Louis said in unison.  
“Yeah, my mother’s granddad and my father’s grandma were neighbors, they were both Middle Eastern.” Lilia said smiling radiantly.  
Zayn thought that she must really love her grandparents, because her face lit up when she mentioned them.  
Zayn was driving the car in the almost empty streets of the nocturne city. They were silent, until Louis said out of nowhere, “So I’m the only original pure blood here.”  
Lilia broke into laughter, Zayn nodded like yeah man, and Louis was making some grimace like he’s much more important than them peasants.  
“You reminded me of Draco Malfoy.”  
Zayn and Louis started laughing too, and Lilia was surprised.  
“Wait, you know what I’m talking about.”  
“Yes, the Slytherin guy!” Louis said in a matter of fact tune.  
“I’m impressed.” Lilia said; she was surprised that these two guys knew anything about Harry Potter, but then to think of it, Zayn was a literature student and yeah it was not that surprising.  
Silence fell again until they arrived to the dorms.  
“Here you go crazy girl, take care.”Zayn said with a cheeky smile.  
“Thanks for the eventful night guys.”  
“I hope to see you again Lili, Zayn let her come on Thursday to actually watch the show next time.”  
Lilia got back to her room, and quietly, she lay in her bed, without even changing her clothes, she slept almost instantly.  
***  
After Lilia was out of view, Zayn got out his cigarettes’ pack and his lighter, and started to smoke, Louis was wondering if his friend was trying to hit on this girl, he started to like her, and he was not sure she was even Zayn’s type.  
“So this girl Lilia, she’s just a friend?”He asked trying to sound careless.  
Zayn took a long drag and then blew a puff of cloudy smoke before speaking: “I dunno yet.”  
He started the engine, and got moving again, they headed to the strip club they used to visit every time they got together.  
“She’s not your type.” Louis commented.  
“No, she’s not but I didn’t know I had a type!”  
“Ha Zayn don’t make me laugh,” Louis replied ironically, “let me describe your type; sexy ass, big boobs, blond, with a pout.”  
Zayn was going to choke on his cigarette’s smoke, it was so true, but the thing is he did not mind other girls too.  
“Wait, I’m describing the type of girls you like to bang, but the ones you actually like to be in a relationship with are punk girls with tattoos and piercings. I’m just wondering, that Lilia girl looks so decent, I’m gonna put a bet she’s still virgin too, so are you trying to hit on her by any chance.”  
“I don’t think she’s a virgin.”  
“What makes you say that?”  
Zayn shrugged, he just had this feeling that the girl had a dirty side about her, but she doesn’t show it until she’s in deep shit, in love.  
***  
Next Day, Lilia woke up feeling dizzy, she was still so sleepy. She had a cold shower just to revive herself, and then put on an emerald green dress, with a beige knit jacket; it was a bit chilly outside. She felt like walking today, she still had time until her criticism class starts. She was enjoying her time; she grabbed a cup of cappuccino from a nearby coffee shop and stalked her usual way to campus. She started recalling the events of last night; she was looking at the ground and laughing like a lunatic. She was so stupid, and she hoped Zayn would not think she is really dim-witted. She was doing it again, thinking of him, ugh, before she knew it she felt so mad again.  
A car passed by her, and she heard a familiar voice shouting: “Morning beautiful.”  
Lilia did double take, it was Zayn. She felt exasperated; every time she thinks of him he turns up, next time she’s going to wish for a million pounds.  
“Hop in, if you’re planning to arrive in time.”  
She did not have much of a choice; she got in and sat next to him.  
“How was your night?”  
“I slept like the dead, how was yours?” she asked trying to sound sweet.  
“I slept a couple of hours.”  
She did not want to ask why he did not sleep after she was gone. She had a bad feeling about it anyway. She kept on looking out of the window, trying to ignore him. However, she thought Zayn did not like that, she felt the pressure of his stare on her.  
“Keep your eyes on the road.” She said, without trying to look at him.  
“Look at me first, or we’re gonna crash I’m sure.” he said mischievously.  
She rolled her eyes in exasperation, and she scowled. Zayn laughed and looked ahead, she then looked aside again. This was the time where she hated this guy so much that she wanted to run him over with his own car. She sighed angrily, and when they parked in the campus lot, she got out of the car without waiting for him. She knew she was acting rude, and she did not care, the guy was really tapping on her nerves, and she did not want to get all angry today.  
She was walking as fast as she can, heading for the lecture hall, thankfully Zayn did not try to catch on with her.  
Zayn was really annoyed with this girl, he wanted to make her fall for him, but he did not want to break her heart, it was something he never considered when he started flirting with a girl, so she better be thankful for that, but she would not know. In addition to all that, he started feeling sexually attracted to her, she looked so fine in that dress, it complemented her skin, and the cute Greek bun on top of her head, he just wanted to; no he should not go there, he will be uncomfortable and this was not advisable in this coming lecture. He decided to ignore her, or maybe he should hook up with any girl today, just to get her out of his mind. He put his glasses on, took off his leather jacket and wore a red and white varsity jacket with a big M on it.  
Lilia sat on the second raw, when Zayn entered, she almost gasped, he looked like a totally different person, he did not look in her way, he passed by her but ignored her and went to the back. She could not help but feel sad. She knew he was mad of what she did; probably he won’t try to talk to her unless she apologizes. The lecture passed as slow as ever, Lilia was writing a small text about Zayn, she was just describing him in a very abstract way. Zayn, in the back, was really bored, he did not even try to listen, he was sketching Lilia’s portrait. When he finished, he had a final look at it, she looked so much like the Disney princess Jasmine, yet she had a pearly white complexion. He portrayed her big doe eyes so well, he was proud of it. He closed his sketch book, and tried to think about something else. The lecture was finally over, so they got out, Lilia was waiting for him, but he did not acknowledge her, he just passed next to her and kept on walking.  
Lilia felt humiliated, she knew that nobody noticed, but she felt hurt. He just looked through her as if she was actually invisible, she could not believe that he could be so cold. She did not try to follow him, so she headed to the library in order to try and read the next book she has to review, Peace and War by Tolstoy. She read the summarized edition, but forgot half of its events anyway.  
She was walking between the back shelves in the library, searching for a good edition with a strong binding, when she heard a girl giggling. She tried to look from between the books, she saw a long blond girl, trying to flirt with Zayn. He was not ignoring her; he kept staring at her chest. Sophia rolled her eyes, typical guy. The girl did not stop on just flirting, but she had the nerves on fondling his package. Zayn grabbed her hand swiftly, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded excitedly, and followed him somewhere. Lilia was still in shock, but she felt curious, where were they going? She always thought that curiosity would be the death of her sometime.  
There was back stairs apparently leading to the library storage floor, it was really narrow, with high risers, she made sure she went down ever so slowly, without making any noise. The place was dimly lit, and a little bit dusty. She heard noises coming from the back, and she was not really prepared for what she saw. The couple was getting really steamy, the girl had her back to the wall, and had wrapped her long silky legs around his waist, Zayn had removed his jacket and shirt, he was topless, she could just see his back, and oh she tried to avoid looking.  
“Harder Zayn, harder,” the girl moaned tugging on his hair.  
Zayn kissed her hard to shut her up, and then moved down to her neck, leaving a trace of love bites. She moaned excitedly, and things started to get aggressive. Lilia got out of there as fast as she could, she did not believe what she just witnessed, and she felt her eyes were scarred forever now. How could she look at Zayn straight in the eye again, she did not know, and the thing that frustrated her the most, was that a part of her wished to be in that girl’s place. Another part was telling her she was so stupid to even like the guy, a third part said it would not hurt if she just stayed friends with him. She grabbed the book, and tried to forget all about what she saw; she sat in a chair, and forced herself to read.  
“Hey there Lilia,” the blond guy named Niall was heading towards her.  
She tried to smile back, but she thinks she failed miserably: “Hello Niall, how are you today?”  
“I’m fine, thanks sweetie, I was looking for Zayn have you seen him somewhere nearby?”Niall asked.  
Lilia blushed, she replied in a nervous voice: “who Zayn, no I did not see him around here I just lost him in the crowd after our common lecture and I don’t know where he is!”  
Niall eyebrows shot high, he was not sure what was wrong with her, but she looked as if she just took some energy booster and could not control herself.  
“Okay, well if you see him, please tell him to meet me in the outdoor cafeteria!”  
Lilia nodded more than once, approving.  
“Are you sure you’re okay?”Niall asked concerned.  
“Yes I’m fine, “She replied with a wide smile, “I think I’m having a sugar rush though, I had a very sweet cup of cappuccino this morning.”  
“Ah, well that explains it all. Have a nice day, and enjoy your buzz, hah.”  
She replied with a very silly giggle, and when he left she let out a long sigh of relieve. Stupid Lilia, why do you have to be so nervous about lying? She put her head in her hands, trying not to break into hysterical laughter. She tried to concentrate again in her book, she was only in the second chapter, when the blond girl passed by and went out of the library, her hair was messy, and a lusty blush covered her skin. Five minutes later, Zayn showed a silly smirk marked his lips. Lilia looked quickly in her book, trying to concentrate as hard as she can, she did not care if she was reading the same line for the hundredth times, and she just did not want to make any eye contact with him. It was strange, but somehow she felt he was looking at her, and in no time, the chair opposite to her was pulled back, Zayn must have sat making himself comfortable, he put a heavy philosophy book on the table, making her jump. She could not ignore him any longer.  
So she only glared at him. He was still smiling, and opened the book, tracing the table of contents with his index.  
“I think you owe me an apology.” He said casually.  
“I think you owe me one!” she said forcefully.  
“I don’t like being ignored; I was just trying to make you feel how you made me feel this morning so now we’re even.” he whispered.  
Lilia did not want to stay in his presence any longer, she felt so awkward. She closed her book and stood up.  
“I don’t know why you’re trying to talk to me Zayn; I’m obviously not a beautiful blondie.”  
Lilia tried to walk away, but Zayn grabbed her wrist, making her whip around. She was surprised; his grip was actually biting her wrist.  
“What do you mean you’re not a blonde?” Zayn asked menacingly.  
Lilia bit her lower lip; she should not have said that.  
“Nothing,” she replied trying to avoid his gaze.  
He took the book away from her hand, and dragged her out of the library, she tried to get loose of his grip, but he only tightened it.  
“Ouch, Zayn you’re hurting me.”  
He led her to a deserted space, where he put her in a corner, and towered over her. He did not care that he was scaring her; he just wanted to know if she saw anything of what happened back in the library.  
“Now, tell me what you meant by your last comment.” He asked again.  
Lilia was not looking at him in the eye, she was not sure what she will say, she felt so embarrassed, but then it was his fault, he should be embarrassed not her. He made her look up, holding her chin, not so gently.  
Zayn thought he will see a doe eyed frightened girl, but what he saw was something else, that made him want her even more. She pierced him with two darkened angry eyes, they were tearful nonetheless, but it was more of anger than fear.  
“I saw you flirting with a blond girl.”  
“At the back of the library?” he interrogated.  
“Yes.”  
“You saw us just flirting?” he asked again.  
She did not answer; she did not know what to answer.  
“No, I went down to the storage floor too and trust me I did not want to see what I saw, I walked out as fast as I could, and If I could take it back I would, now please let me go.” She blurted out so quickly, she wanted to be away from him.  
Zayn was not happy with her answer, but he did not move out of her way.  
“Did you like what you saw?” he whispered in her ear.  
She felt goose bumps taking over her body, but she ignored it, she was not going to be vulnerable around a guy again. She tried to push him away, but it was in vain.  
“Zayn, please I’ll just try to forget about that, I don’t want this silly thing to ruin our new friendship.”  
She knew she surprised him with this answer, for sure he did not expect her to friend zone him. He was frustrated, but he tried not to show it, he nodded.  
“Alright, then it will be our little dirty secret, little one.” He pinched her nose playfully, making her feel like a silly little girl.  
She was finally free to go, she ran as fast as she could to a nearby toilet, she entered a stall, and only then, she allowed herself to cry. She was not sure why she was crying, but her emotions were so intense, she just could not keep them in any longer. She tried to feel her wrist, it was still hurting, and she knew it was going to bruise later; she had very sensitive skin. She now knew she could not handle playing with that guy, Lara was right after all, he was dangerous. He looks all sweet and caring on top, but in fact he’s just looking for free flirtation and no strings attached relations, not caring of the rising number of hearts he broke on his way, as long as he got what he wanted.  
He was just another Darren in her life. Her last boyfriend, he was just like that, except that he really liked to see a girl broken, begging him to stay with her, on her knees. He enjoyed hurting his girlfriends, breaking their souls. She did not know how she got over this period of her life, she barely made it to graduation, and she wanted to believe that her prayers helped her stay on the right path, although her forearms did not stay unscathed.  
Her phone beeped, making her jump, she checked it, her school best friend Michael wanted to meet her in the outdoor canteen. She felt excited to see him, she haven’t seen him for a very long time. Michael was in medical school, and he seldom had anytime to breathe. She got out and tried to wash her face, and then put some makeup to look normal again. She got out, and saw her skinny friend waiting for her alone on a table. He got up when he saw her, and she just felt that she really needed a hug, she ran and hugged him. Michael felt that something was wrong with her, but he did not want to pressure her to say anything.  
“Missed you Lili, how are you doing?”  
Lilia stepped back to look at him, he changed over the summer, he gained a few extra inches, and he was not as skinny as he was before.  
“Looking good Evans.” She said.  
Michael laughed at her ways, she always tried to be the flirtatious type, but she failed miserably. They sat together, and he went to bring her something to drink. Unfortunately, her eyes fell on Zayn, sitting with a group of people, where Niall was playing the guitar professionally. Zayn gave her a nasty look, and she could not define if it was a look of disgust, or just a look of him being annoyed by her presence.  
She tried to ignore him completely; she did not want anyone to ruin the rest of the day. Her phone beeped again, this time there was a message from Zayn, he asked: “Is the guy you’re sitting with one of your so many friends?”  
She automatically looked in his way, but he was pretending he had nothing to do with the message; he did not even look in her way to see her reaction. She felt really frustrated, what does he want from her?  
Michael came back with two flasks of orange juice, he handed her one, then sat down. Lilia thanked him, but she was still thinking about the message.  
“Okay, can you tell me what’s wrong?”Michael asked; he felt that Lilia was not acting normally, she reminded him of that time she was with that bastard Darren.  
“There’s nothing Mike,” Lilia lied with a smile, “I only miss Erica and Lizzy.” And this time she was telling the truth, she really missed her best friends, they were always so close, but now they only message each other. Erica went to Harvard to study law, and Lizzy to Italy to study arts.  
Michael nodded: “Well yeah me too!”  
“Oh, I’m sorry Mike, you must be really missing them too, especially Erica!”  
“Well it‘s okay; everyone has to pursue his own dreams! We’re still maintaining a good long distance relationship.”  
Lilia smiled, she really loved Michael, he was a very understanding person, and a very loyal friend.  
“I hope it works with you two!”  
In the background, Niall started a new tune, it was the tune of a familiar song, it was for usher, or maybe Ne-Yo she was not really sure.  
“Is it always like this in here?” Michael asked; he was not used to see the students of his school having fun, they always had something to read, to study.  
“Yeah well, we’ve got more free time than med students.”  
Someone started singing the song, Lilia thought it was Niall at first, but then, it did not sound like Niall.  
She looked around, until she found Zayn singing. She was puzzled, he sounded like a total different person. She was always discovering new things about him, and it seemed like the surprises will not stop any day soon. She was wondering, how could someone as cold hearted as him; sing with this passion, well maybe not that cold hearted. All the girls were goggling at him, some drooling, and some people were recording videos.  
Niall joined in the chorus, backing Zayn, and the two of them seemed to enjoy it. When they finished the song, everyone clapped. Michael made a comment, but Lilia could not hear him over the noise.  
Zayn ignored everyone who was trying to get his attention, and walked to where Lilia and her friend were sitting.  
“Hey Lili,” he started sounding all cute and cool, “I didn’t know you had friends from med school!” he asked Niall earlier if he knew the guy she was sitting with and Niall tipped him with something to start with.  
Lilia was shooting him with her expressive eyes.  
“Michael is an old friend, we went to school together.” She replied from between clenched teeth.  
Michael held his hand: “I’m Michael Evans; it’s nice to meet Lilia’s new friends!”  
“I’m Zayn Malik!” he said shortly, shaking Michael’s hand.  
“Oh, you’re not from here?” Michael asked.  
Lilia could have sworn they were trying to crush each other’s fingers. Michael as usual was acting all paternal over Lilia.  
Lilia intervened before Zayn started throwing punches.  
“Michael, Zayn is actually from up north.” She could tell Michael felt embarrassed for jumping into conclusions, but he apologized in a very elegant manner.  
Zayn fortunately did not take any offence: “It’s nice to see you have some friends, see you later little one.”  
Michael looked at her, questioning.  
“Don’t ask it’s a long story.” Lilia replied.  
After spending sometime catching up with her old friend, Michael excused himself; he had a study group for anatomy and physiology. Lilia felt sorry for him, but he was a study machine. She felt proud that her best friend is going to be a future doctor.  
She went back to the library to borrow the book she wanted to read, then headed for a quiet place on the bottom of the basement stairs, before she was down there, she heard a couple arguing.  
“She told everyone that you kissed her!”  
“But I did not, don’t you think I’d remember kissing another girl, Danielle, I love you, and I’d never cheat on you!”  
“I’m sick of your fan club Liam, but you seem to like the attention, I don’t understand!”  
“If I’m going to go pro, that’s all what I’m going to get! All footballers have fans Danielle, what do you expect me to do!”  
“I don’t know but I’m tired of this, I can’t do this anymore.”  
She heard the girls’ footsteps coming, Lilia sat down and pretended to read the book, the girl named Danielle passed by her, but she did not notice her, she was too angry to notice anyone. The girl was beautiful; she looked like a movie star. Lilia went down the stairs to find Liam sitting on the bottom step, holding his head in his hands.  
“Don’t worry, she’ll come around!” Lilia could not help herself from saying.  
Liam looked back, he was scolding but when he saw her, he smiled politely.  
Lilia felt the heat coming to her cheeks: “I’m sorry, I happened to overhear your conversation, I came here to have a quiet place to read, but it was not what I thought it would be.” She said with a nervous smile.  
“I don’t care!”Liam replied with a shrug.  
“Look, I’m not really the expert, but I know she’ll come back when she’s had the time to think it over! I mean you seem like a nice guy!”  
Liam smiled again: “Thanks! But what do you know about me, other than I’m the cool nice captain of the football team!”  
“Well, I don’t, but you can tell when you see a nice person, from the way everyone looks at him!”  
“Who are you?”Liam asked; it was strange that when he said it, it did not sound rude.  
“I’m Lilia Keys, I’m studying English here.”  
“Nice to meet you,” Liam said.  
They shook hands. Liam was the guy she just imagined he would. He spent a quarter of an hour talking about his girlfriend, it sounded really cute to see such a nice guy in love.  
“Ah. It’s time for football practice, I must go now, and it was really nice to meet you, see you later, Lilia.” Liam said getting up. Lilia smiled and said goodbye, she wished a guy like him was in love with her, it would be nice to feel someone loving her that way. But, no, the only guys she attracted are cold hearted Don Juan-s.  
“It was nice what you did there.”  
A voice came out of nowhere next to her. A girl was sitting on the first step of the next flight down to the second basement. She came around and sat next to her, she had a book in her hand.  
The girl was the strangest thing Lilia has ever seen. She was apparently an emo, dressed all in black, with a little green somewhere between her skirt, and on her tee-shirt, with really strange fingerless gloves. The girl was her height or maybe a little more, she had curly brown hair with little meshes of green in it, her eyes were olive green, and they had a brilliant shine of intelligence in them. The girl was beaming at her, and she held a hand.  
“I’m Rain, I know it’s a stupid name so you can call me Rou, everyone calls me Rou!”  
“I’m Lilia Keys!”  
“It was really impressive how you talked with Liam, it seems like you’re one of those rare girls that don’t act like a slut in his presence.”  
Lilia did not know how to respond to this, she just looked back at her page.  
“I’m not trying to be rude, but it’s really rare to find a nice friend around here!”  
“You’re right! Err, what are you reading?” Lilia asked; she wanted to start some friendly conversation.  
“The memoires of a Geisha, and you?”  
“Ah, that’s a really good book, you’ll enjoy it; I’m reading something for a class War and Peace.”  
“Tolstoy, I like his classics, but I prefer English literature.”  
“I like everything that discusses subjects in a new interesting way!”  
“So you’re studying English?” Rou asked.  
“Yes, and what about you?”  
“I’m studying chemistry! I like working in labs as I like watching Anime.”  
“You’re an anime fan! Cool.”  
“I like you already!” Rou said excitedly, “I can’t really trust girls around here, but you seem nice enough! Can we be friends, I’d understand if you don’t like to, I mean I know I’m strange and…”  
“I’d love to be your friend Rou!”  
Rou looked surprised, her face lit up and she beamed.  
“But, you have to pass a little test before we make this official!” Lilia said; she was curious to know something.  
Rou looked surprised, but then said: “Bring it on sister!”  
“Okay, it is one simple question, answer it honestly, what’s your favorite book series!”  
Lilia closed her eyes; she would be very disappointed if Rou said Twilight!  
Rou laughed: “Oh that’s an easy one, without any doubts, the best book series in recent history of course, Harry Potter.”  
Lilia was glad: “Oh my God, come here best friend.”  
She hugged her new friend, Rou was laughing hard, and she said she’d do the same thing when she wanted to make new friends. They spent hours talking about books they’ve read, and some they wanted to read. She has never met a girl that can understand her love for books. Even Erica and Lizzy did not; they had other things in common. It was strange, she never felt so comfortable with a new friend so easily, and with Rou she had this feeling that she knew her a long time ago.  
“So, what is going on between you and that Zayn Malik?” Rou asked jumping yet to another subject.  
Lilia frowned: “Nothing we’re just friends.”  
“I’m sorry if I’m being nosy!”Rou apologized.  
“No, it’s just that, he’s…” she could not find the proper word to describe it.  
“A womanizer,” Rou suggested.  
“That’s a strong word, I wouldn’t use it to describe him, but I’d say he does not say no to any girl that approaches him, if you know what I mean.”  
“Ah, maybe, I’m not saying he’s a bad guy though, I just want you to be careful, he could be charming and without you knowing it, you could fall for him.”  
“And that’s a bad thing?”  
“No, but he does not seem like the type who would settle down soon! I could be wrong, but that’s how I see it!”  
“How do you even know the guy?” Lilia asked.  
“I’m friends with Niall, and he’s a friend of Zayn.”  
“Oh!” Lilia was not surprised, it seems like Niall knew everyone in this college complex after all.  
****  
Lilia was weary that day; she met so many people and talked more than she usually did, yet most of all it was because Zayn’s mark on her hand was still bothering her, and the situation she got herself into was too much to cope with in one day.  
When she went back to her room, she had a long hot shower that helped take all the tension out of her. When she went out, she found that Rou texted her the details of the next meeting of the bookworms club she wanted her to join, and they were reading a book she already read, but hell it was funny discussing books, and hearing other people’s points of view and theories.  
Lara just joined her when she was making some noodles for dinner; she asked if she could have some, she was starving. Lilia never minded to share, and she was asking about her day when she was scooping some noodles in her bowl. Lara gasped; Lilia looked at her, searching for the reason that made her roommate gasp in horror.  
“What is it, a spider?” Lilia assumed.  
“No you idiot, what happened to you arm.” Lara grabbed her still sensitive arm, but Lilia flinched from the touch quickly; she hid her arm behind her back.  
“Nothing, I bruise quickly, just bumped it!” Lilia replied.  
Lara narrowed her eyes, she could tell when Lilia is lying, because Lilia was the worst liar ever, but she did not know why she is lying to her.  
“If a guy did that, you know you should report him! They mean it you know, when they do that! Some of them like to inflict pain! Don’t convince yourself he didn’t mean to hurt you!” Lara said dully.  
“Seriously Lara you’ve got a wild imagination, I’m not even dating a guy, and I don’t like to sleep around, I guess you figured that out.” Lilia did know that Lara figured that out, because Lara spent some times with different partners asking Sophia to come back later.  
“Not even Zayn Malik?” Lara asked raising a curious eyebrow.  
For the second time that day, Lilia was asked if she was in relation with Zayn.  
“Ugh, no! I’ll never date him, not unless the sky turns purple, and the oceans turn red.  
Lara laughed, yet she was suspicious, and if really Zayn Malik did that to her, she was turned on by just the idea of this, he must be rough in bed, was all she could think of.  
Lilia spent the week end at her aunt’s house, far away the university social life, she had a very relaxing weekend, and she was content when she got back to her usual routine on Monday. Zayn sat next to her on their common class. They did not talk much, and she was not sure, but he was acting all shy and quiet, or was he just ignoring her again?  
Rou found her during free time; they both sat on the lawn next to the outdoor cafeteria, making fun of some silly stuff, and criticizing some subjects and books.  
“Oh, so I forgot to tell you,” said Rou looking all excited all of a sudden, “There’s a party this Friday, actually it is more of a masquerade, but well we’ll know each other anyway. Some rich kid is throwing it in his huge house! And he actually is inviting everyone he knows, so wanna come?”  
“I dunno!” Lilia hesitated; she was not the party time, but well hell why not!  
“Come on we’ll have fun!”  
“Okay!”  
Zayn was roaming the outdoors with his eyes, automatically searching for Lilia, until he found her sitting next to the Rou girl he knew Niall was secretly dating. He would never understand why Niall is dating her, or even hiding it anyway; because the girl was fine, sexy and dark. He was glad Lilia found another friend, and someone he knew was good, she looked happy talking to her animatedly.  
***  
Lilia walked to her secret or not so secret place at the bottom of the stairs on the first basement. She finished her classes, but Lara texted her asking if she could hang out away from the dorms, she was having company again.  
She sat there, feeling miserably alone, she just felt so alone she wanted to cry. She heard someone coming, she turned around, and all she could see at first was his shoes, he had huge feet, and tall legs she kept looking up until she found a baby faced guy looking at her smiling. He had cute dimples too; she could not help but smile back. The boy ran his hand through his hair, flipping them, messing them up, his curly brown hair seemed so soft when he ran it through his long fingers.  
“Hi.” He said slowly in a deep husky voice.  
Lilia hoped her gulp was not as audible as she thought it was. The guy was still piercing her with his shiny emerald eyes; it was like he was going to eat her or something.  
“Hello” Lilia was surprised her voice sounded weak, she cleaned her throat.  
“Err, sorry to interrupt your quality time, I just come here to study, you know away from the crowd.”Harry said in a slow manner. Lilia had the urge to shake him so he could talk a little bit faster, but she suppressed this thought because it was rude to laugh at his face with no visible reason. She knew by ‘crowd’ he meant his fans, the crowd of girls that always followed him from place to place. This was the famous Harry styles she heard of so many times.  
“Nah, it’s okay, you can stay here, I’m just reading my book, and I don’t mind a company, but keep quiet please.”  
Harry smiled even wider, he nodded.  
“Erm, so I don’t know your, err, name?”He asked.  
“I’m Lilia Keys.”  
“No way!” He gasped.  
Lilia’s eyebrows arched, what was that!  
“Do you happen to be related to the famous environmental lawyer, Eva Keys?” Harry asked this time faster than anytime he ever spoke since Lilia met him.  
“Yes, actually she happens to be my mother.” Lilia said with an awkward smile.  
“Cool, you must invite me over sometime; I’m a huge fan of your mom’s work.” He said smiling seductively.  
“Yeah, why not.”  
Harry did not shut up until they exchanged numbers, and then he interrupted every fifteen minutes, asking her questions. She was getting frustrated, how he could study in this way. After another ten minutes, he spoke again.  
“So Lili, I’m having a masquerade at my house this Friday, I’d like to see you there!”  
Lilia nodded, still reading in her book, so he was the rich kid who was throwing the party.  
Lilia felt the piercing gaze of Harry, staring at her again, she looked back exasperate. He kept on staring at her, Sophia could not stand this eye contact battle, his eyes were so intent, she moved her eyes away, and looked in her book again.  
“Do you think I’m sexy?”  
Lilia’s eyes went round; she never thought a guy would actually ask this question to a girl. She almost laughed, but she did not want to sound rude. She cleared her throat, and then looked at him again. He was smiling, dimples showing, and all what Lilia wanted to do was poke him there, and tell him he should not ask this question again, because it sounded silly and stupid. However, Lilia did not know how to respond.  
“Yeah, err, you’re not bad.” She said casually shrugging.  
“I thought you were lesbian or something or you’re trying to act cool in my presence!”  
Lilia could not believe the guy’s pride and rude confidence. So what if he is sexy, does that mean every girl he sees should fall to her knees and praise his good looks.  
Lilia’s eyebrows furrowed, she was really annoyed by his comment, she wanted to retort “Go fuck yourself”, but then she decided to ignore him, and continued her reading.  
Harry did not like that, he put his hand on the pages, and it blocked everything, “So are you straight or what?”  
Lilia did not like what was happening. She removed his hand, with difficulty, and sent sparks with her angry so expressive eyes. She decided to ignore him again, trying to calm herself, not to slap his pretty face.  
“Oki, so I’ll go for lesbian!”He said teasingly.  
Lilia shut her book with a thud, and looked at him, she wanted to retort with something really bad, but the words were lost in her mind, because Harry just grabbed her from the neck and brought their faces close together until his lips brushed hers ever so lightly at first. She closed her eyes, why she was not stopping him, she did not know, all she knew is that she was feeling lonely, and Harry made her feel better now. He started tracing his lips around hers, just feeling the curves, and then she felt his tongue tracing her lips, making them wet. She parted her lips so he could deepen the kiss, and he did almost instantly, his tongue slipping in her mouth, exploring it so expertly, he tilted his head and she did the same in the opposite way, so he could have a better angle, she started reacting back, rubbing her tongue against his, just teasing him, she liked the kiss a lot. She did not feel that good in a long time, even Darren did not kiss her like that, and he was usually aggressive. Harry pulled his head away, Lilia moaned, she did not want it to stop. Harry smiled mischievously. Lilia’s senses then started to hit her, she hated herself for letting go like that, she made a promise, and now she breached it, she betrayed herself. Harry stopped smiling, and came close again, his face less than an inch away from hers, he wanted her to meet him halfway, and she knew she would, because he was too damn good at kissing. She brushed her lips to his lips, and it was the sign he waited for so he could take control again, she leaned her back so it rested on the railing. He followed, his hands ran through her soft straight hair, and then lower to her back.  
“Hmm,” Someone cleared their throat loudly.  
Harry and Lilia parted instantly, and looked up. To Lilia’s horror, the one who was at the top of the flight was Zayn. She felt her face blushing and she knew she must have had a tomato shade. Harry felt awkward, because Zayn was furiously looking at him, as if he caught him flirting with his female, and Harry knew somehow that Zayn felt something towards that girl. He also knew that he needed to get out of here, because Zayn looked as if he wanted to beat the shit out of him.  
“See you later Lilia.” He said politely, and climbed the stairs. When he was on Zayn’s level, he said an apologetic “Hello” that Zayn acknowledged with a nod. Harry continued his way up, and Lilia was left alone with Zayn.  
Zayn looked curiously at Lilia who was trying to tie her fingers together. She felt awkward, almost trapped, yet she knew she had every right to kiss whomever she wanted, and it was not Zayn’s business to mingle with her love life.  
“Hello Lilia”. He said with his usual grin.  
“Hi Zayn” she replied with the same tone, she won’t let him win this time.  
“Having fun, aren’t we?” he asked.  
“Well yeah, I was until you showed up!” she replied shamelessly.  
“I guess we’re tied now.” He said ignoring her last comment.  
“Except that I did not interrupt you.”She retorted feeling furious.  
“Well if you did it wouldn’t have changed anything!”  
She could not stand this silly conversation anymore, so she grabbed her book and stood up. She wanted to leave, and surprisingly he let her.  
“So, you’re going to Harry’s party?” He asked before she was all the way up.  
“We’ll see,” was all what she replied.  
***  
The week almost past with Lilia trying to avoid Zayn, whenever she saw him first, she took off and went to another place. She spent much of her free time with Rou, and they went together to the bookworm club meeting, which was held in the middle of the week. Thursday afternoon, Lilia decided to go watch Louis Tomlinson show, after all she promised she will watch his show sometime and plus she was bored. She messaged Rou to check if she was free to come with her, but she had to study for an exam. So Lilia dressed up and went alone. In contrast with what she saw last Thursday, the place was really crowded before the show. Women were present more than usual in this place, but Lilia guessed it was all for the sexy standup comedian.  
Zayn was serving someone his beer when he saw a girl walking towards the bar, wearing a simple red dress. Men were all staring in her direction, Zayn tried to calm himself down, because he felt this urge to grab her and kiss her so everyone can know she belonged with him, but he knew she did not. She sat down on a stool right before him, and smiled.  
“Hello.”  
“Hey!”  
“I just came so I could watch Louis’ show this time!”She did not know why, but she felt she must explain why she came.  
“Okay, so you wanna order something?”  
“Yep, any soft drink you’ve got!”  
Zayn chuckled, if anyone in the world would go to a bar and order soft drink it would be Lilia.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know... This is just... please don't hate me! *laughs nervously* leave comment to tell me what you think :S


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